The word “design” originates from the Latin designō (de + signō), which means “to draw” and “to mark out”; the Latin signō itself is derived from signum, meaning “a mark” (and is also where the English word “signature” comes from).
Design is an expression that can take nearly any form, by an individual who leaves behind their own unique, personal imprint in the process of creation.
In the Middle Ages, putting a mark or a sign on something meant using sealing wax and a unique item (such as a signet ring) to leave a personally identifiable mark as a method of verifying the status of important or confidential documents, a sender’s identity, or as a form of decoration — basically to say: I have written this letter, created this object, etc, and it can be verified by this personal mark I have left imprinted on the envelope, package or container in sealing wax.
Design can then simply be understood as an expression that can take nearly any form, by an individual who leaves behind their own unique, personal imprint in the process of creation.
A brief history of design
Victor Margolin, design scholar and Professor Emeritus of Design History at the University of Illinois, Chicago and author of World History of Design (available as a journal contribution and a book) describes design as an activity that was born out of an instinctive human need to organise our material environment for the basic purpose of survival — for example, the first creators and users of prehistoric tools.
Design continues to exist today in much the same way, but for some reason it has been somehow relegated to the sidelines, collectively viewed as an artistic- or aesthetic-only practice. This misunderstanding has obscured awareness of all the designing that happens outside the category of design-as-art.
Design with a “D” and design with a “d”
Design and its history is therefore inextricably linked to past economic, political, and cultural structures, and is an activity that has always been central to the creation of culture. Because of this, the term “design” alone is broad and frequently used in varying contexts and to mean various things over a vast and often disparate range of industries and activities.
There are two broad categories of design we can start with to begin making sense of it all: design with a small “d” — what people have always created to satisfy needs and organise their environment, and Design with a big “D” — the official term associated with mass production and mass communication that may be its closest association today.
Deconstructing design
Form, Function, Meaning
Form follows function is a principle that has its roots in pre-WWI Germany, as architects collectively turned away from the fanciful and toward the rational and functional as a response to the prevailing questions of that time about aesthetics and use of materials.
The idea that the shape of a building or object should primarily relate to its intended function or purpose became a movement that is now almost inseparably associated with iconic modernist architects and industrial designers of the 20th-century — among others, Le Corbusier, Charles and Ray Eames, and Dieter Rams, most of whom were strongly influenced by Bauhaus ideologies.
The Bauhaus School
Harvard Art Museums, which recently released 32,000 digitised works from the Bauhaus School, considers it the “most influential school of art and design” of the 20th century. Founded during a politically tumultuous period of history in post-Nazi Germany’s Weimar Republic, the vision of the Bauhaus School was to galvanise and unite artists, architects, and craftsmen towards a common goal of designing and building a utopian new world.
The legacy of the Bauhaus School continues on today, well beyond the boundaries of the art and design spaces. The Bauhaus ways of teaching and learning changed how we live and work — modern ideas in modern maker culture mirrors Bauhaus ideologies in many ways:
- focus on fundamentals and experimentation; hands-on production
- reframing our ideas about hierarchies between high-low, artist-worker, teacher-student
- sharpening senses toward both physical materials and media environments
- embracing new technologies in conjunction with industry
- imagined and enacted cosmopolitan forms of communal living (eg. Makerspaces and Hackerspaces)
Architects, sculptors, painters — we all must return to craftsmanship!
The Bauhaus vision of reuniting artists with their craft is manifested in Eric Gill’s An Essay on Typography written in 1931:
The art schools… must return to the workshop. This world of mere drawing and painting of draughtsmen and applied artists must at long last become a world that builds. When a young person who senses within himself a love for creative endeavour begins his career, as in the past, by learning a trade, the unproductive ‘artist’ will no longer be condemned to the imperfect practice of art because his skill is now preserved in craftsmanship, where he may achieve excellence. Architects, sculptors, painters — we all must return to craftsmanship!
Design Principles
Gestalt Principles
Visual and interaction design principles especially, are based on Gestalt principles, commonly described as “Gestalt design principles” (and entire university modules and online courses are built on this), but few know that the Gestalt School was in fact a school of psychology in early 20th century Austria and Germany.
The word “Gestalt” means “form”, also interpreted as “pattern” or “configuration”. According to this school of thought, we perceive entire patterns or configurations, not merely their individual components, and Gestalt theories of perception are based on the assumption that humans are naturally wired to understand objects as an entire structure rather than the sum of its parts.
Gestalt principles — proximity, similarity, figure-ground, continuity, closure, and connection, determine how we perceive visuals in connection with different objects and environments.
What Is Good Design?
Dieter Rams was Head of Design at Braun from 1961 to 1995. During this period, he established himself as an icon of 20th century industrial design.
10 Commandments of Good Design
Written to answer every aspiring designer who asks the same question: “Is my design good design?”, Dieter Ram’s 10 Principles of Good Design has been published, republished, dissected, and widely adopted as commandments of good design:
1. Good design is innovative
2. Good design makes a product useful
3. Good design is aesthetic
4. Good design makes a product understandable
5. Good design is unobtrusive
6. Good design is honest
7. Good design is long-lasting
8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail
9. Good design is environmentally friendly
10. Good design is as little design as possible
What is Design to You?
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